China is ramping up its efforts to support businesses and workers affected by the trade war, with officials from two key government departments holding separate meetings with private sector representatives within hours of each other on Wednesday.
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The back-to-back talks signal that China still has work to do to stabilise its economy and labour market, as uncertainties linger despite Beijing and Washington agreeing to dramatically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods on Monday.
Bai Qingyuan, deputy chief of the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), met with representatives from major Chinese internet platforms and banks to discuss measures to support the self-employed on Wednesday, according to an official statement.
Hours later, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced that its chief, Zheng Shanjie, had also held a meeting with a group of private sector representatives on the same day.
China has a huge population of self-employed small traders that make a living by selling goods overseas via online platforms, with the SAMR acknowledging that helping the self-employed navigate the trade war was a key part of its mission to “stabilise employment, companies, markets and expectations”.
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During a meeting with executives from major platforms including mobile payment provider Alipay, social platforms Douyin and Xiaohongshu, and e-commerce player Pinduoduo, SAMR officials urged the country’s tech giants to “develop more practical methods” to support self-employed people.